Cold Air
by graciela17
Summary: The Mark of Athena
1. Chapter 1

**Thanks for reading my Mark of Athena. I hope I can give an original approach to it. There is a reason as to why I titled it, Cold Air, and you will soon find in the story and the plot. Enjoy!**

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><p>Cold Air: The Mark of Athena<p>

Gaea could feel the pain in the death of her sons as they faded into her skin. Her rich soils could feel their blood soaking into the core of her heart. Humiliation rose up from her, humiliation that her sons could not withstand the wits of demigods. She had worked so hard to keep Percy Jackson as a pawn in her game; for her future purposes. But now she was doubting that it was worth the wait. She had to work to convince herself that her future plans would be to much for these demigods to fight against. For now, her greatest allies were not her sons, but the tactics of fear and manipulation. Her power had not fully waken and that is what made her feel vulnerable and weak. She hated the feeling of the billions of human feet that walked upon her, that when she felt the first heavy feet of her sons, the giants, she felt hope again. Hope that she could take her dominant place as ruler over the earth. Feeling threatened was not an option for someone as powerful as her. She could not feel threatened at the fact that the two camps were now joining each other in the race against her plans. Her first plan had failed, so now her next act must be executed shortly.

Masses of the inhabitants of Camp Jupiter swarmed the area where the Argo II was seen to be approaching. They came together, hot sweaty bodies crowding past Terminus, so they could see the Greek visitors… or deceivers.

"STOP! STOP I SAY!" Cried Terminus in frustration. "That's it! If you all intend to act like wild animals, then I shall treat you as such! Feel that? That is the my iron fist punching you in the gut!" The campers ignored him still. "That's right!" He continued. "Oh look! There's something on your face! It was pain! That's what you get for passing without inspection." Now seeing that he was being completely ignored and his threats and mental attacks weren't working, he groaned in distress. "I shall complain to Jupiter himself about all of you! _Then_ you'll be sorry."

The trio that had ventured into the land beyond the gods could be seen at the front of the crowd waiting with anticipation. But maybe Hazel was the most nervous of them all. At first, when she was holding hands with Frank, she thought it was his hands that had started to sweat, but now she realized it was her. There was a cool wind stirring from the bay, but all she could feel was the heat that spread from her forehead to the rest of her body. And one name kept coming to her mind: Sammy.

The same was true for Frank. That name Sammy had been coming back to his mind again and again and made him feel sick all over. Here he was trying to enjoy himself, especially since he was holding hands with Hazel. _Oh great!_ He thought, _Now my hands are sweating!_

Percy on a different note was completely at ease. The thoughts of seeing Annabeth had his head spinning. He couldn't wait to hold her tight in his arms and hear her voice whisper love. He couldn't wait to run his fingers through her hair, and then… feel her lips gently touching his, forming perfectly. Yet there was still an under stream of nervousness that ran deep within him. Juno had said that she would cause trouble for the quest, and as much as he wished not to believe it, he knew that Juno was probably telling the truth. He hoped that the only reason as to why she said that was because she abhorred Annabeth, and she did, but that was only hope.

Reyna's eyes gleamed with faith as the airborne ship started to descend to the ground. Octavian walked up from behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Praetor Reyna, if these Greeks do turn out to be deceivers, you can rest assured that I will slay that son of Neptune… I hope you're not apposed to the brazen bull method." Reyna shook his hand off her shoulder with disgust.

"I can see that you are resolute in your idea that Percy is a Greek deceiver or a spy for Gaea. But the question still remains as to why he would fight for us and kill Gaea's sons if he was one of her spies. And why would he restore our eagle to us if he was a Greek fraud." Her answer came quick which left Octavian without any words for the time being.

Then… there was a silence that fell upon all of them. Octavian in the time being, had walked over to where the campers with weapons were ready, to signal to them if there was any treachery. The ship, with it's gold dragon head mast glittering fiercely in the sun, was now hovering five feet above the ground. There were a few voices on board and one of the Greek campers let the heavy anchor drop to the earth.

Percy started to walk forward slowly. He could almost feel Annabeth in his arms. Hazel was almost about to faint. The heat was bearing down on her, her head hazy with the memories of Sammy. She was only conscious of Frank's strong hold on her hand. Frank though was trying to clear his thoughts of this Sammy, or rather, Leo, as he was now known. He even comforted himself with the thought that Leo might be Sammy's grandson, and looked identical to Hazel's childhood friend.

Finally a door into the ship was opened, and a gangplank slid out smoothly. Then, the next thing they knew, the short, Hispanic, curly haired kid Leo was coming out with a big grinning, waving. "Hey everybody! I'm the captain of this ship, and you can greet me with the name Super Awesome Aviator Captain of the ship Argo II!" Then someone hit him on the back of the head, "Shut up Valdez!" There was a ringing of laughter heard from the crowd and a nervous smile from the girl who walked out behind Leo. Her short dark chocolate brown hair had small braids running through it, and her currently green eyes could be seen shining even from a distance. She was dressed in stressed jeans with some tie up boots that looked designer. Her top was a turquoise blouse that fit her perfectly, and an aviator jacket that matched her boots. But her face had some of the roman guys edging closer to her as she made her way down the walkway.

Then she was followed by a tall guy with short blond hair, and a handsome face walking out into the sunlight. He waved as a huge roar of the people went up in the crowd. Reyna pushed her way through the crowd and was about to grab him in a tight hug until she saw him holding hands with the girl that had just come out. "Jason!" She said just as the crowd was quieting down. His eyes met her's, and for a second his smile faltered. Reyna was almost fuming inside as she saw that pretty faced daughter of Venus edging closer to him. Thankfully she kept her cool. "It's been a while Jason." He nodded,

"It has been quite some time since we spoke." Then coming down, he let go of the girl's hand and hugged Reyna. But it was nothing romantic, that much Reyna could tell. It was a stiff friendly hug, and it only last for an instant. "I want you to meat my friends, Leo and Piper." His voice was calm and pleasant enough. _Piper? What a silly name! _Reyna caught herself thinking. "And this is Anna-" But before he could continue, there was a call from the crowd,

"Annabeth!" Percy's voice could be heard resounding across the people. The campers made way for him and when Annabeth had just barely started to come out, she was met by a strong boy grabbing her into his arms. He held her tight against him, his lips hitting her's, and his arms wrapped firmly around her as if afraid he was going to lose her. A cheer went up from the crowd, people chanting, "Percy, Percy, Percy!" There was a tap on his shoulder, so reluctantly, he looked up to meet Jason's eyes for the first time.

"It seems you've made quite an impression on the camp son of Neptune." Jason's smile seemed real enough.

"Poseidon if you will," Percy joked, but truthfully he was being serious,

"It's nice to finally meet you Percy. I've heard a lot about you from Annabeth." Percy looked at Annabeth, and he could see her blushing.

"Don't get to proud Seaweed Brain." She smiled. How could he not help kissing this girl. And then, after another tight embrace, he raised his hand to the audience who had gotten a little to loud. Everyone went silent in an instance. Jason looked at him in amazement.

"And how long have you been hear?" Jason questioned.

"Around five days." Percy didn't mean to sound smug, but he couldn't help feel a little proud.

"When I became praetor, it took me a whole month for them stop speaking in an instant like that." He laughed, clapping Percy on the shoulder. "What'd you do to make them respect you so quick?" But before Percy could answer, Reyna spoke up,

"There's a lot to speak of… a lot of explaining… and a lot of story telling to do… so I think it best that we should head over to the senator's hall and talk in private." There were many groans of displeasure among he crowd, and Percy held himself back from the temptation of putting up his arm to silence them just to impress the son of Zeus. "Percy, would you like to talk to them?" Reyna looked up at him expectantly. Annabeth smiled a humored smile; she knew him all to well. If it was one thing that hadn't improved, it was Percy's confidence in making speeches. He cleared his throat nervously, but kept a calm face. Facing the crowd, he spoke the first things that had been running through his head:

"When I first arrived at Camp Jupiter a few days ago, I had nothing with me, not even my memories, except my name. I felt alone, concealed within an empty chamber in my mind. There was nothing from my past that gave me comfort because there was nothing there… except for Annabeth." Percy looked back at. She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, but a smile spread across her face. Much of the crowd, mostly girls, let out, "Aaaawe." But most of the guys whooped or cat called. "Then, I found friends… Hazel and Frank who gave me hope again. Hope that I might be able to attain what belonged to me; my memories and my past. They helped me through the journey of the quest into Alaska and without them, I would have never made it back. But when we did, we returned with victory, and helped you in your struggle on the Feast of Fortuna-"

"You mean _saved_ us!" Somebody yelled out. There was laughter and then Percy continued with a chuckle.

"And now you have honored me as your praetor and received me as family… but what I wish to happen is that Romans and Greeks receive each other as family." There was a nervous silence among the crowd. "Jason, son of Zeu- er Jupiter, has already become apart of my Greek family and I of yours. This was the purpose of the goddess Juno. To bring together the camps so that we may defeat the enemy forces. You have trusted me and I have not deceived you."

"Ha!" Octavian could be heard somewhere in the crowd. Percy continued, ignoring him,

"Neither will they and I lay my life down on that."

"As do I." Jason said standing by Percy. "I have gotten to know the Greeks and they have received me as warmly as you have received Percy. There may be differences, but once we realize who the real enemy is, we can work in unison as friends. I have already done so with Leo and Piper and I know we can trust them."

"Right," Percy said after Jason had finished, "We both worked together in defeating the Titans, but we just didn't know it. You helped to destroy them on the west coast and destroy their palace, while we destroyed them in the east and protected Olympus."

"And you killed Kronos, don't leave that out." Reyna said jokingly. There was an outburst at that, but Percy raised his arm again to silence them. Ok, so maybe he did it to show off a little.

"Now, with two camps joined, we can make history once again as strong allies. Our ancestors fought each other, but we can work together and be different than the Greeks and Romans of the past."

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><p><strong>Please comment and tell me what you think! I love to hear your encouragement and criticism. I will be updating shortly. <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all your kind reviews sibuna-daughter-of-artimis****, ClueHunter47, R.e.m.i.s.e., PenguinXD, and MMJrox88. Your support has encouraged ****me to continue in the story. Just a heads up though; I feel like this chapter is a bit fast paced, so forgive me if you feel the same way. But other than that, enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

"Hazel!" Cried Frank in worry. He was clutching her in his arms carefully as he picked her up. She had fainted suddenly, droplets of sweat covering her forehead. Percy was the first to run over to where his friends stood, concern filling his emotions. Annabeth and the others followed after, but Jason was right behind him. Percy felt her forehead, noticing that his hand was moist from her perspiration.

"Is she sick?" Percy asked looking down at her with care.

"No, she was fine earlier… but she just fainted suddenly." Frank answered.

"Should we send for a child of Apollo?" Asked Jason, also worried for his friend.

"No, no. She'll recover." Replied Percy who then looked up at Frank. It was as if their thoughts could be read on their faces, a whole conversation passing through them just by looking at each others eyes. They both knew why, but they didn't want to speak of it. For now, silent understanding passed between them. "Frank."

"Yes Percy?"

"Why don't you take Hazel and put her on her bed to rest for awhile. I think that would be best for now."

"Alright. She's probably been affected by everything that's happened in the past few days."

"Exactly." Percy nodded. And that was all the words that were spent over their understanding of the situation.

"Now," Reyna interrupted, "I think that at this moment, there are serious matters at hand that we should speak of. I know Hazel isn't feeling well at the moment, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't start planning." Her authoritative personality had taken over the circumstances.

"But it wouldn't feel right to make plans without consulting her." Said Frank. "She should have a say in things."

"He's right, we should wait until she has recovered before discussing plans." Said Percy, standing with Frank. Reyna, in reply, sighed heavily. She rubbed her temples with her forefingers.

"We can hold off making permanent decisions, but for now, I think that we should at least discuss what has happened and what should be done. Then, once Hazel is better, we can speak to her about it and hear what she has to say." She looked at all of them and they knew she was right. Time was running out, and to be temporarily delayed for even less than a day, wasn't an option. Things had to be accomplished, and there was no more time for relaxing or celebrating the victories of last night. Work had to be done.

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><p>There was laughter, there was breath holding, there was anticipation, and most of all, there was excitement when the stories were being told. "You should have seen it!" Went on Leo, "Jason was just laying dead on the ground, completely gone. But then Piper-"<p>

"But then Piper rescued my soul," Jason interrupted, "she saved my life and to that, I owe her much." A smile past between them, a smile that held an understanding of each other. An understanding of admiration and maybe of love. But there was something being held back in Jason's willingness to let his emotion of love get the better of him. Reyna's eyes were on him, and he could feel it. All his memories of his close relationship between him and Reyna, that had been starting to develop before he had gone missing, had come back once he saw her again. Then quickly checking himself, he looked back to the others.

"Um, continue Leo."

"Right." Leo now took hold of the audience watching him as he told the rest of the story.

Finally it had ended and the only one that didn't look interested or excited about the whole situation was Octavian. He was mulling over one of his poor victims; a teddy bear that seemed to look anxious at the sight of knife in Octavian's other hand.

"So you can make hurricanes?" Let out Leo.

"I didn't believe it either when I first saw it." Frank replied. "And yet he's still jealous over the fact that I can shape-shift."

"Dude, you have to admit. That's pretty freakin' awesome." Percy laughed. "I mean, I've been threatened to be turned into a bottle nose dolphin before," he almost shuddered at the memory of Mr. D's warning so long ago, "but to actually turn into anything that you want; now that's amazing." Frank laughed also, but his mood was still tainted with the worry over Hazel's condition. Not her medical condition, but her condition with this kid Leo. He was even sure if he liked him, I mean the kid told way to many jokes! Hazel could never fall for some guy like this… then again, he had been called a stupid baby faced man before.

"Alright," Reyna said standing, "we've heard each others stories. Now we must start to make plans-"

"Praetor Reyna!" A girl called, rushing into the senator's hall. "I checked on Hazel just like you asked…" she panted heavily from running a great distance. "She's gone!" There was a sudden numbness to the situation for a split second, and then there was a sudden outburst.

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><p>The wind rustled Hazel's hair in the strong breeze as she closed her eyes and breathed deep. She was on top of Arion, who had sped out of camp in less than a second. "Take me anywhere!" She had said to the horse who obeyed her command. He could sense her urgency and stress as she pulled herself onto his back. There were tears appearing on her eyes, just like there were jewels appearing rapidly all around them. In this tense situation, Arion held himself back from even nibbling on a gold nugget that had popped out of the ground.<p>

_Just as long as that stupid baby faced man doesn't come along. _He knew she couldn't understand him, so he felt safe in saying something that might hurt her feelings if she could. For just a moment, her sobbing stopped as she felt the sudden whip of air that hit her like a hurricane, and his thunderous hooves escalating to a speed she couldn't comprehend. She could feel the excitement in the ride once again which brought comfort to her, but just for a moment. Then, the ride was over and she found herself overlooking a ravine in the mountains. There was a chill air that could be felt clinging to her exposed skin, but it was refreshing. Mountains rose forming beautiful structures, a green, healthy forest all around. "Where are we Arion?" She knew that if he did talk to her, she wouldn't be able to understand him. He whinnied and she guessed he was saying _I'd tell you if only you spoke horse._ Then she remembered this image. It was a place that she had seen on post cards and on documentaries on TV. It was Yosemite National Park, and it was even more beautiful than she could have ever imagined. It was so wild, so untamed, a place where humans hadn't completely gripped in their ambition to domesticate the land. "This must be the place where you like to come, isn't it?" He nodded like a regular horse would who was trying to shake the reins. "You like it because it's one of the last natural places on earth, that you can feel free in." She sighed heavily, the weight of her memories coming back. Her mood shifted dramatically. "It's so unfair Arion! I finally feel like I have a chance in the future, a chance at feeling normal, a chance at feeling love again, and then something comes and knocks me over again!" She sobbed. "I don't want to get back up anymore! I'm tired of things getting in my way. I thought that I could handle my brother's disappearance and get him back with my friend's help, but then this happens. Just another think to weigh me down and pull me back. It's so unfair!" Her angered voice echoed across the mountains back at her. "I just… want rest." She thought about how much life had been unfair, how much she had gone through and at that moment, she seriously doubted she could go on. But… then thoughts of her friends started to come back to her. Percy was there for her and definitely Frank. He would always stand by her side no matter what. And then there was Jason, he had just come back and they had been friends before. He would help her in any time of need. And the other new people seemed friendly enough; Piper, Annabeth… Leo. How could she go back at this moment and face a boy that looked exactly like Sammy… and didn't even know who she was. She didn't even know who he really was, or how he could take the appearance of someone that cut her memories with flashbacks. Yet she knew that there was something wrong with her misery. It felt… selfish. Here these people, her friends, had sacrificed so much for her and here she was moping about something that wasn't even really important. Who cared if he looked like Sammy, or… was Sammy. All that mattered right then and there was how much support her friends gave her and the mission that they had to accomplish. She would try not to let her emotions get the best of her. She would try and work with this Leo and the rest of them as best she could, as if this matter didn't exist. She wasn't going to let her feelings get the best of her. She wasn't going to feel sorry for herself anymore.

"C'mon Arion," she patted his neck, "let's get back to camp."

"What are we going to do?" Frank's voice was panicked. He was almost ready to faint himself. The others were in just as much chaos as him.

"How could Gaea have taken her?" Percy let out, "We should have never left her alone!"

"It's all my fault!" Frank was about to cry (which was just a little embarrassing).

"What difference does it make if she's gone?" Octavian had the nerve to say. Frank was almost about to pull out his boa and knock an arrow on him.

"Ok, I already don't like this guy." Said Annabeth who gave him a glare with her stormy gray eyes that actually made him shudder.

"Everybody!" Piper's voice rang out clear. "All our fighting and worrying and panic isn't going to help Hazel. We need to use these emotions to figure something out; a lead or evidence as to who could have taken her." Everybody had gone silent and started to nod.

"Yeah, you're right Piper, we should." Percy agreed.

"Oops… I charmed you all didn't I? Sorry!"

"No, really you're right. We do need to do something instead of yelling and panicking like you said."

"Ok," Jason jumped in, "I purpose that we start to search the camp grounds-"

"Everybody!" Hazel's voice called out into the large chamber of the senator's hall. She walked in with a strong and authoritative stride. "I'm sorry I caused you all to panic," Her voice faltered at the sight of Leo, "but I was just getting some fresh air to clear my thoughts and refresh after fainting." Frank ran over and grabbed her in his arms. He now knew how Percy felt with Annabeth.

"Thank the gods you're alive!" His voice was muffled in her hair. Hazel felt comfort in his hold, that at the moment, she knew she could be strong. With him next to her side always, she felt like she could face anything that got in her way.

"I'm so confused right now." Leo said who had been in the middle of it all. Almost everybody laughed except for Octavian who stabbed the knife into the gut of the teddy bear. Reyna also found herself genuinely laughing, something that she hadn't done in quite some time. There had been so much stress in the past few months, with her being the lone praetor for so long, that she didn't have time to laugh.

"Hazel," Reyna interrupted but with a smile still on her face, "are you feeling well enough to go on and consult plans with us?" Hazel nodded.

"Yes Praetor Reyna, I have recovered from fainting. I just didn't get enough sleep last night, that's all." She felt bad for lying, but she really didn't want anyone else to know what was really going on inside her. Especially not Octavian; he probably use the information to taunt her. Then she'd feel sick all over again.

"Then we can continue."

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><p><strong>Hope you liked this new chapter, I'll try to be updating as soon as possible. Please comment and feel free to check out some of my other stories! Thanks:)<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry it took me so long to update, but I've been pretty busy with school and life in general. Thanks to those who comment and here is the third. I wanted to kind of focus on some characters like Leo before I actually got them on the quest. So this is still the day before. And I do have a good plot for this story, so I hope you continue to read it. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>ruleofthumb - Thanks for your kind comment and corrections on my story. Hope you read on:)<strong>

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

"Ludicrous!" Octavian spat. "Traveling to the Greek camp? What purpose does that hold?" His hands were in fists, his knuckles white from rapping his fingers tightly. "Don't you see Reyna? I warned you from the beginning that he was a Greek Deceiver!"

"You also told us that you'd save the camp on the Feast of Fortuna and that didn't happened either, did it?" Reyna replied almost smugly. Now turning away from the paled yet heated face of Octavian, her eyes met with Percy. "But would like an excuse from you as to why you would propose this request." Percy shifted uncomfortably. Looking at Annabeth comforted him for the moment.

"Well… I think I'd like to visit my home and old friends whom I haven't seen in almost a year, just in case I don't make it back… alive." He choked out the last word.

"It seems fair enough," though Reyna thinking of how Jason might have felt coming back to camp Jupiter. "But how much time will it take out our tight schedule?" Percy thought about it.

"I'd only spend an hour at the most." Then he paused, "By the way Annabeth, do you know why Grover isn't here?"

"He ad some Lord of the Wild stuff to take care of." She answered with a humored smile. "But I think Blackjack should be coming any time now." Percy's face lit up.

"Great, now I'll have to pt up with the name "Boss" again." He laughed.

"Who's Blackjack?" Wondered Octavian suspiciously.

He's a black Pegasus that befriended me after I saved his life."

"A black Pegasus?" Hazel's eyes shined thinking of the majestic winged horse as dark as midnight. Then her thoughts shifted to Arion. Of course, this Blackjack couldn't be as great as _him_.

"Yeah," Percy smiled seeing the look on her face," I can let you ride him if you want." He offered.

"Yes, please." She said trying to contain her excitement. Frank looked at her, loving it when he saw her so happy.

"So I guess that's the last of our plans?" Frank asked. Reyna nodded her head.

"Yes, so let's go over them one last time." She breathed in deeply. "We are already equipped with everything we need until we reach Europe. So any stops along the ways won't be necessary unless there is an attack in the air on the Argo II. But I believe Leo has already taken care of that?" She looked over to him and he smiled proudly or maybe a little sadistically at the thought of the defense mechanisms he had applied to the ship. "Our only break we will take will e when we stop at Camp Halfblood for about an hour. Then crossing the sea shouldn't be a problem since Gaia doesn't hold power over them. Once we arrive in Europe though, we must be on our highest guard when we go for supplies. And lastly… we will arrive at our destination and be prepared for whatever awaits us there.' she said the last part more solemnly. Everyone there nodded understanding except for Octavian who smiled cruelly at the thought of Percy and some of the other coming to a horrible fate.

Suddenly, before any of them could respond, there was a loud comotion from outside, echoing into the Senate's House. There was the sound of struggling guards, trotting feet, and a loud whinnying. Then Percy could hear the voice of the person's mind.

"_Boss! These half breed mules are trying to tie me up. Help me out here!" _Percy smiled at Blackjack's insult. Well a least it wasn't as bad as Arion's cussing. Then rushing to his aid, the others followed behind him, he saw his old friend fighting tooth and hoof against the two cohort capers.

"Praetor Percy," one of them said with a huffing breath, "This Pegasus was trying to go into the Senator's Hall-" but before the camper could continue, Blackjack spread his wings, knocking them both to the side. There grips on the ropes failed and he went free, trotting up to Percy.

"_Hey Boss!"_ Hazel was the first to come out and examine the majestic beast.

"Blackjack, Hazel," said Percy introducing them," Hazel, Blackjack." hazel went up to him and began to stroke his nose.

"He's beautiful!" She exclaimed. The others admired him too. "Makes Scipio look like a-" Frank began, but was cut off by an icy glare from Reyna.

"Everybody," said Jason speaking up, "I think it's time that we started preparing for a long trip tomorrow. Rest, relax, and save energy for the quest we will start on early next morning."

"Right," agreed Reyna. "I don't want anyone to be leaving the camp, she looked at Hazel, "we can't take chances that something bad will happen to either of us. Understood?" "But we still haven't covered one last thing yet.." Octavian said, butting in.

"And what's that?" Percy asked, a feeling of annoyance stirring inside him.

"Who will be staying and will be going. If you haven't noticed, there's eight of us and only seven in the prophesy." As soon as he said that, there was an uneasy feeling among them all. Reyna spoke up first,

"I have to stay and keep order over the camp. It is my duty. As for the seven of you; Percy, Annabeth ,Hazel, Frank, Leo, Jason, and.. Piper. You are officially the seven of the prophesy."

The day before the quest was warm, but pleasant. Hazel, to Arion's disgust, had been off, flying on Blackjack with the greatest thrill and contentment. The others were lazing around and relaxing, especially Leo. He had found a shaded tree to sit under and pulled out a cheese burger from his magical belt of wonders.

"What do you want?" He could hear the sound of Piper's annoyed voice behind of the near buildings.

"I just wanted to speak with you daughter of Venus." That was he voice of… the guy name Octavian?

"Aphrodite, if you don't mind." Now he could hear the acid in her voice.

"I like your temper. In fact, I really like girls with your attitude." There was a pause, "I know I didn't make the best impression on you earlier, but I'd like to show you hat I'm really like-" By this time, Leo was on his feet walking.

"Let go of me!" Now Leo was running.

"Give me a kiss beautiful." Now he was standing a small distance from them. He could see Octavian's grip on her wrists and Piper struggling.

"Stop it!"

"Charming me won't work, cutey. I've prepared myself against such forms of attack." Then just as Piper was about to scream, Leo was running toward them, pulling a foot long wrench out of his belt. he was furious! This jerk Octavian was trying to make out with his best friend! (author's not: I promise you readers, that's all he was trying to do) But before he could say anything, in came Jason to save the day. He ran past Leo, flipping his gold coin which formed into a sword.

"Get your filthy hand off Piper!" Jason said with thunderous anger. Octavian back away in a pulse. Without warning though, Jason came up and sucker punched him straight in the jaw.

"Gah!" Octavian was writhing on the ground in pain. Leo knew he should be happy, but he wasn't. He always felt inferior to Jason, and it always felt like he would never get the chance to do something heroic. He was never as good as Jason, and he never would be, or so he thought. He walked away, his head lowered, and a dark cloud following after him. No one had even noticed him.

After Octavian had yelled threats of revenge and stumbled off, Jason and Piper calmed themselves and looked at each other.

"Thanks, but I could have taken care of him," she joked. Jason smiled, but then remembered something.

"Where'd Leo go?"

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><p><strong>Comments are very much welcomed! I need them to survive! Ok not really... but anyways, i just want to say that later on in the story, when they're traveling over the Atlantic Ocean, they're going to have something waiting for them. Oh, they thought they could get away with going over the water safely with not attacks, but they don't get out of this one so easy. I have something in store for them. Hope you like it!<br>**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here you go: Dun dun dun! (intro of 21st century fox music) dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun, dun dun dun duuuun! dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun duuuuuuuuuun! Sorry, kind of a huge intro for a small chapter. But every chapter counts right?  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Thanks to everyone for your comments. without them, I wouldn't have enough ambition to keep on going.<br>**

**HyperOps - Thanks! I'm glad you think so. Hope you keep on reading:)**

**ruleofthumb - I know right? Octavian would do something like that. And thanks for helping me with my grammer.**

**athena grl - Thanks for the no criticism hehe. And thank you for your kind thoughts.**

**cherrybubble - I thought it'd be cool to start off with an overview (if that's what you mean). And thanks for the compliment. **

**BooksRBiffles - I love your review, it's so thoughtful. And I'm glad you think that I'm one of the best. People like you make me want to keep on writing:)**

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

The lanterns that were lit with Greek fire, swayed ever so gently with the motion of the air born ship. They cast a flickering green light which displayed itself dancing with the shadows and the crew that rummaged about the deck. The whole ship would be burning in a celestial fire, which gave it a powerful appearance; but as to not attract much attention to themselves in the pre-dawn setting, they all worked by the gloomy light.

The only one that seemed motionless was Leo who stood silently watching the horizon turn into a silky gray as the sun began to climb into a new day. This was normal for him to be using the steering knobs at the prow, looking out for obstructions that might hinder their traveling, such as hills, buildings, trees, and mountains. (They had tried previously to fly a few thousand feet above the ground, but had discovered that the wind god Aeolus, didn't like obstructions in his path in the morning when he was sending certain winds to there places for the day. So until the afternoon set in, they had to fly close to the ground.

But now, instead of seeing things alertly as usual, his thoughts were clouded with self-deprecating feelings. He leaned over the side of the ship, his head in his hands, letting out a heavy sigh every so often. He could hear people talking and things going about as usual, but that was all background noise. Even when someone, maybe that guy named Percy, yelled, "Blackjack! I don't care if you're tired, you can't land there!" He ignored it. He even didn't notice that girl Hazel, glancing at him every so often with eyes of confusion yet curiosity.

"Hey Super Awesome Aviator Captain of the ship Argo II," teased Piper, "when are we going to turn on the maximum velocity rate? Time is of the essence, and if we want to arrive at Camp Halfblood by tomorrow morning, then we'll have to set it now." Leo exhaled deeply, then replied,

"We have to wait until we can rise a little higher so we don't have to worry about obstacles hitting us. Maybe in an hour when the sun has risen." He looked back at the horizon that was now filled with clouds that had glazed ridges, brightening with every passing second. Piper nodded, but was to much distracted to see Leo's glum mood. She was filled with worry at what had happened when she saw Jason being pulled over by Reyna just before they had left. He was acting… distant.

Then after much more brooding and worthless feelings, there came a hand on his shoulder. He would have been startled before, but because of the way he was feeling, it took him five seconds to realize someone was trying to get his attention. As soon as he looked back to the sea green eyes, the hand dropped from his shoulder. The son of what was it? Poseidon? That sounded right. The son of Poseidon had walked up and was now standing beside him. "Hey," he said cautiously. Percy had seen how Leo was acting and realized the obvious.

"Hey," Said Leo back. There was an awkward silence.

"I sure hope Zeus doesn't knock me out of the sky with the lightning." He said laughing nervously, trying to break the ice. Sure it was a dumb way of starting out a conversation, but sub-conscientiously those were the exact feelings he was having at the moment.

"That was horrible," said Leo now chuckling faintly.

"That's the point. It's suppose to distract you from your thoughts." Percy returned, then paused, "I heard you're really good at jokes."

"Yeah… well I've been realizing of recent how useless they are and how much of me was useless too." Now Percy looked at him in confusion.

"You useless?" Leo looked at him now.

"Sure. I mean I'll never be as great and amazing as Jason and Piper or even you. You guys will all have the spot light. You all have these amazing powers and capabilities while I'm just good at making things." Now Percy was looking at him incredulously.

"You got to be kidding me!" Leo flinched at his change in tone. He could feel the power in his voice. Of Course that was usual with being the child of one of the big three. "You made this ship that we're now sailing on and if it weren't for you, we'd probably be traveling on the ground where Gaia would be able to attack us more easily. You should be proud of yourself! And you have amazing powers too. You can summon fire and bend it to your will. I mean, that's total Avatar the Last Airbender status!"

"Avatar what?"

"Never mind, that's not important. What is, is that you realize that you're just as equal as all the others and just as important to the prophesy. And I bet your dad would feel the same." Now there was a thoughtful silence between them.

"I guess you're right… but I hate the feeling of never being able to be the hero in a situation. It's always the others. I may be able to do cool stuff, but nobody will ever pay attention to me like they do with you guys." Now Percy knew what he was talking about. Sure he had always gotten a lot of attention since he was the child of Poseidon, but he had had instances where he felt left out. Like when Thalia had become a demigod again and had taken his usual light spot. Sure maybe it had seemed a little selfish, but he was used to being the leader.

"I know it's tough when you feel left out and not given the praise you're worthy of, but that's all part of growing. Growing to become a more powerful demigod. Trust me, your time will come like it did for me. I remember before I had ever come to Camp Halfblood and I was always seen as the weird kid, different, abnormal. But once you find your place like I did at my camp, you'll shine."

"Can anybody say Katy Perry?" Now they were both laughing. Percy was glad he had returned Leo's humor and good mood and made him feel better.

"So what do you say captain. Shall we sail in high spirits from now on." Leo was now liking Percy. Sure he was way more powerful and had a more powerful father than him, but he felt like he was somebody he could more relate to than maybe even Jason.

"Sure." They fist bumped and went on doing their sailing duties.

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><p>"What's wrong Jason." Piper had found a voice to speak, but it was soft. His back had stiffened and then he turned around.<p>

"What do you mean?" His eyes met her's and then they fell. He knew what he meant, but that was the only way he felt he could reply.

"Well… I feel like you're distancing yourself from me." She hugged her arms, her hand gently rubbing up and down her arm, her head turning away from him to hide the fear in her eyes. "I just want to know why." Jason let out a heavy sigh. There was guilt written all over his face.

"I don't think you do."

"And what makes you think that? It was only three days ago, before we left for Camp Jupiter that you told me your feelings for me. What happened… to the Jason that told me his heart."

"I-I can't. You won't be able to face me ever again without looking at me with hate." Now Piper's heart was picking up speed. What did he mean by that?

"Tell me now Jason. You can't hide it from me, I won't let you." She walked toward him and touched his arm gently. "What happened when you talked to Reyna." He had already known that she saw him. He had seen her in his peripheral view as the daughter of Bellona had beckoned him to talk with her privately. But still… when she said that, it made him feel even guiltier. "What did she say."

"She…" he knew he couldn't hide it from her, either that or she was accidentally charming him. "she told me that she loved me and I told her that I didn't feel that way about her anymore." He swallowed harshly, "Then she started to remind me of all the feelings that we had shared together and all the things we had done together. And before I knew it… we were kissing." The light in Piper's eyes had died away, just like a candle being blown out. "I'm so sorry Pipes! I stopped myself once I remembered you. You were the only reason why I stopped." Now seeing the look on her face, he started to panic, "You have to understand; once I had come back to Camp Jupiter, all my memories had come back to me… including Reyna. But once I had figured out and sorted all of my feelings and memories that I had accumulated within the past few months with you, I knew what I wanted. And I wanted you and I still do. It's just that in that one instance, old feelings had resurrected themselves again, but just for an instance. You have to believe me." There was silence for a small time. Nothing but the sound of wind could be heard and the occasional voices that could be heard on the lower deck.

Piper didn't know how to feel. She didn't know if she should believe him or forgive him or let things go back to normal. So many emotions started to play within her conscientiousness. Especially her love for him. She was sure she still loved him, but she didn't know how much she trusted him. He had explained everything to her so thoroughly and completely, that she knew she shouldn't doubt his feelings for her… and it did make sense that he should react in such a way. After all, this had been his previous life before she had met him.

Now looking up into his eyes she saw sincerity and worry. But she also saw his strong love for her. Taking his hand, she drew herself closer to him. "Will you always promise to love me. To never forget me." They both knew how powerful the word 'forget' was.

"I could never forget my love for you," He put his arms around her waist and leaned in to whisper, his warm breath hitting her ear, "no matter who takes away my memory, you'll forever be etched into my mind."

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><p><strong>Sorry for the action-less chapter, but I had to get some things settled down before I could continue. One more chapter after this and then the real adventure begins. There will be some action in chapter 5, but it will be the last chapter to get things settled.<strong> **Hope you stick with me:)**


	5. Chapter 5

**I have to say that I am so sorry for not updating sooner. I've been so busy with school and graduating and life in general that I hadn't quite finished the chapter. But here you go, some action! The next chapter will be a compilation and resolution of this one, so even more action coming up!**

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

Kansas. That is where the ship stalled after a hour of maximum velocity rate. Everyone had gone under as the ship took off like a sonic boom which had shocked some of the people below them. They had just kicked it in when going over a residential area where people were lounging in there back yards by the pool side, having barbecues and enjoying a warm day, when out of no where, came the ear plugging worthy sonic boom of the Argo II as it took off at its highest rate of speed.

"Great!" Leo yelled in annoyance. For that one hour, there was a grin on his face as he directed the ship at a speed that would have made aerial captains in the US Military jealous. But now there was a KA-CHUNK-BOOM, and with that, everyone started to come out from below as it stalled above the ground. They all looked around to see where they were and all they could see was mostly empty green fields with a few sparse trees, side-country roads hear and there, and a housing development in the north. The GPS that Leo had custom made said they were somewhere in Kansas. "Great," he muttered, "this is just great!"

"What's happened?" Asked Jason coming up from behind. Leo looked at all the controls and realized that there was no red flashing from any of the engines or many parts of the ship.

"That's just it," he replied, frustrated, "nothing. In fact the engine and everything in the ship is completely stable. It just doesn't make any sense." Now he was running his fingers through his long dark hair, which made Hazel's heart skip a beat. That was exactly what Sam use to do when he got that way. She shook her head from the memories, not wanting to fall into a flashback.

Just a hundred feet above them was a thick layer of churning clouds that seemed to move like waves on a tremulous sea. The humid air clung to their exposed skin, a thick warmth circulating around the ship. The clouds had a grayish green light to them, the kind of light that was shed before a storm. Off on the horizon they could see sunlight beaming down on the hills and newly built houses, but the sky seemed to concentrate a storm around them.

"Hey guys." Jason said, a bead of sweat trailing down his forehead and into his eye. He wiped it out of his vision then continued talking while looking at Piper and Leo, "I can feel a not so nice presence to this storm." The others were looking at it nervously too.

"Thanks captain obvious," replied Leo with a nervous twitch of the eye while reaching into his belt. He pulled out what looked like to be a suction hose.

"What's that going to do?" Piper said with an arched eyebrow.

"Well if they're storm spirits, I might be able to suck them in… I think." "Could someone please explain to me how he can fit an entire suction hose into that belt of his?" Let out Frank in disbelief.

"It's magic, now can we please focus on what's happening or what's _going_ to happen?" Said Piper in frustration. While she said this Leo was still trying to get the engines started again, but nothing would budge. His fingers glided over the many buttons effortlessly, and seeing as how the defense mechanisms were still in check, he let out a sigh of relief. "Annabeth." He said waving her over. She walked over with a nervous pace.

"What's up?" Her eyes scanned the controls.

"I may be a child of Hephaestus, but sometimes, I need some help." He answered, "Do you think you could figure out why the engines are down? You know, with you being a brainiack n' all." Her fingers pressed the same combination of buttons, but nothing was a go.

"Well it's obvious that whatever presence is around us, has tampered with it. Trying to do anything about it will be a fail. So for now, we'll have to wait and see what happens." Percy loved her cute face when it got all nervous. "Let's pray that whatever does happen, we'll be prepared." Just then there was a suction noise, but it wasn't Leo's suction hose. It also made a loud _whirring_ noise and as they looked around them, they noticed funnel like clouds forming.

_Hey boss! I don't like this. I don't like it at all. We have to get out of here!_ Blackjack said coming along side the ship, his wings flapping heavily in the humid air.

"We can't," he said coming up to the black Pegasus, "the ships stalled and we're left to fight whatever's come to appose us." All of a sudden, the funnel cloud started to form at record speed and hit the ground a mile from them. It swelled out to be a massive size, cracks of lightening clutching the clouds like hands reaching out for the ship. Just as this was happening, Leo was pressing the many different buttons that held the defense mechanisms which were installed within the reaches of the Argo II.

The golden dragon mast at the forefront of the ship, which use to be Festus, eyes opened and started to glow a fierce red light that shown brightly. His mouth opened and out of it came something that looked like the end of a canon, but knowing Leo, it was something much more deadly. Fire spluttered out of its nostrils just as metal sheets of celestial bronze started to come out and form around the ship. There was a sound of something electronic being shifted within the Argo II and then out came massive guns from the sides that had electricity running up and down its barrels and shafts. "If these storm spirits want to play with lighting, I'll give them a taste of their own medicine." Said Leo with an almost evil grin.

Jason was already prepared, having flipped his coin and turned it into the imperial gold sword that was evenly balanced within his grip. This was his territory and he knew that whatever was facing them, he could take it. Or so he thought.

Piper took out her knife, but really felt stupid doing so. What was she going to do? Charm the tornado not to come at them? Well if anything, she could at least try to fight any storm spirit that came at her, and she sure hoped it wasn't Dylan again. It gave her a shiver just to think about it.

Frank had already taken out his bow and arrow, while his mind played around the piece of wood that held his life. Shaking his head from that thought, he started thinking if he could show up this kid Leo, he could at least try to impress Hazel. He'd done it before right?

Hazel pulled out her spatha, the light and sheen of the metal reflecting the gloomily clouded sky. She knew that she had to stand up for her friends like they had for her so many times. And a flashback at the moment wouldn't be very helpful if they were in the midst of a battle.

Percy was almost feeling helpless. His power was in the sea, not thousands of feet up in the air. It made him feel vulnerable, and it didn't feel like Zeus was going to be on his side anytime soon. He pulled out his pen, uncapping it, his deadly celestial bronze sword glowing in the dim greenish light.

Annabeth edged closer toward Percy until they were side by side. She felt comfort knowing that he would be there fighting next to her. Her long knife reflected the electrical pulses that emanated off of Leo's weapons.

The tornado didn't come at them at first, but grew larger as its wind speeds picked up to a dangerous velocity. Then, there could be heard a moaning sound emitted from the funnel cloud. It was louder than thunder and echoed off for miles.

"Please don't tell me this is just another jerk of a wind god!" Yelled Jason against the strong winds that whipped against them all.

"I think I've had my fill of these winds gods!" Leo's voice could be barely heard as the howling wind blew his hair all over his face. "I just can't wait to get out of America so I don't have to put up with them!"

Just then, a face formed out of the tornado which sent chills through all of them, reminding them of the sleeping face of Gaia in the earth. It was an aged looking face which took shape from the wind and dirt and debris that filled its twisting form. When he spoke, the mist must have past it off to unknowing mortals as thunder. His voice had a deep and skin paling tone to it,

"I AM THE SOUTHERN WIND GOD NOTUS!" His voice resounded across the land.

"You were right Jason, just another jerk wind god." Said Leo.

"HOW DARE YOU SHOW IMPUNITY TOWARDS ME YOU RUNT OF A DEMIGOD!"

"That was a horrible comeback dirt face!"

"Leo! Shut it!" Piper yelled at him, tempted to take her knife to his tongue. Notus continued,

"I AM TIRED OF BEING SHOWN NO RESPECT, EVEN FROM YOU WHO ARE THE LOWEST OF ALL GODLY LIFE FORMS. AND HOW DARE YOU TREAD IN MY TERRITORY. YOU ARE NOT EVEN WORTHY TO TREAD IN MY PRESENCE."

"Ok, Mr. Egotistical, we're not really treading, it's more like fly-" Jason clapped a hand on his mouth.

"Listen Notus!" Answered Jason to the southern wind god. "I am the son of Jupiter, Jason! I give you and my friends' apologies for… treading in your presence. If you let us continue on our way, there will be no more treading offenses again!"

"DO YOU EXPECT ME TO BOW DOWN TO YOU JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE THE SON OF JUPITER?" But before Jason could reply 'no' Notus continued, "YOU WILL SURELY PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE YOU PUNY DEMIGOD."

"Again with the horrible comebacks." Everybody shot Leo an icy glare. "What? He's already going to kill us anyway." Then without answering anymore, Notus's face disappeared within the tornado and just as it happened, rain began to fall slowly. It began with just a few drops of moisture falling on their hair and faces as they looked upwards, but turned into a soaking downfall of rain. Lighting hit the outside of the ship, rushing over the metal covered surface of the ship. Thankfully though, the inside was uncovered by the celestial bronze.

Piper pushed her dark brown hair out of her eyes that had become completely soaked, the water falling into her eyes. Then looking at her knife, she saw the reflection of Percy, and noticed that he was almost smiling. He seemed to be perfectly comfortable with the idea of a monsoon-like rainstorm pelting them at fifty miles per hour. Turning around, she realized that he was completely dry, which made her squint, thinking that she might not be seeing right.

Seeing that Piper was looking at him, he looked down at himself to see if there was anything wrong with him. Then in realization, he yelled out to her, against the wind,

"It comes with being the son of Poseidon." Nodding, she looked back to see the horrific sight of two other tornadoes taking form and guiding their winds down to the ground.

"This _really_ sucks." Let out Leo, but nobody could hear him against the winds.

"You sure you can't move this thing at all?" Frank said, feet away from Leo. "Because I think we're going to be picking up a few more passengers pretty soon!" "What do you mean?" Leo asked in confusion.

"We have unwanted company." He replied back while pointed toward the ground. Leo went over to the ledge and saw an SUV driving down one of the main country roads, towards them and the tornados. The window was down on the passenger side, a person holding a water proof camera, protruding from it.

"You mean _dumb_ unwanted company." Percy corrected. Thrill seeking storm chasers were speeding down the dirt road, and then came to a stop and parked by a ditch. Four people came out of the car in rain coats and ponchos with water proof filming gear.

"My dad did this once!" Piper spoke up against the wind, "He was on Celebrities and Storms, where they take famous people and go storm chasing. It's usually to see if the celebrity will freak out and they can make fun of them for it; but my dad didn't even flinch when they were only a mile from a-" Now she realized everybody was just staring at her, wondering why she was even telling them this, when there were three massive tornadoes ready to swallow them up. "Sorry, I guess Drew's rubbed off on me a little." Jason chuckled at that response, but soon stopped when he looked back at the storm chasers. The idiots were to close to the tornadoes and were going to get killed!

"Back up everybody!" He yelled while everyone did as they were told, almost in shock from his force of voice. Jason strode up fast to the engines, raised his hands, yelled, "WORK DUMB ENGINES!" And put his hands down on the controls just as lighting hit them. Then a second later there was a kicking sound in the engines, and a new buzzing that they hadn't heard since the Argo II had been moving. "Brace yourselves!" He took the controls now and steered harshly to the left, downward, without waiting for any of them to "brace themselves."

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><p><strong>Please comment and tell me what you'd like to see each other characters do when saving the dumb storm chasers and fighting the wind god Notus. I already have a plan on how I'm going to write it, but it'll be great hearing from you guys:)<strong>


	6. I will be continuing soon

**To all of you who have reviewed Cold Air, I would like to thank you for reading and reviewing. I will not be ending it, but I have been quite busy of late -which I believe you've already noticed. I promise that within the month, I will have two new chapters up. I will not be in school this winter session which gives me more time. I hope you all will forgive me and keep on reading my version of Rick Riordan's Mark of Athena.**

**I lost some of my wind when the actual book, Mark of Athena came out, but seeing as how many of you still love it and want me to continue, I shall.**

**Thank you for your time in reading this. I hope I will not disappoint in chapters to come:)**


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